Chapter 17: A Little Suspect

{R}

Gossip used to be background noise for Ren and, for the most part, it still was. But now that he was a phantom thief, he kept an ear out for anything interesting. It was all he could do since a quick check on the Phan-Site during lunch provided no leads for another target. Unfortunately, there wasn't much difference in the current topics from before Golden Week. People were still talking about Kamoshida and them, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Well, except for one thing: exams.

Ren internally groaned at the reminder.

With everything that happened, he had forgotten to study in that time.

He would have to remedy that, and remind the rest as well.

But just as he was about to do that after the day's classes ended, Mishima came up to him and said, "Hey."

Ren looked at him curiously. "Hello, Mishima," he said. "How are you?"

"Oh, uh, I'm fine. Just...have you seen the Phantom Aficionado Website?"

Ren tensed but kept his face even. "Yes."

"I'm the one who started it."

This time, he couldn't keep it up and stared. "What?"

"Surprised?"

Ren paused. "More like...why are you telling me?"

"Um..." The boy looked around before he leaned in and said in a whisper, "You guys are the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?"

Ren should've known. He had hinted to Mishima that they would do something after all. And Kamoshida had suspected them too when they sent the calling card. But still, even if Ren saw no harm in telling him, he still had to be careful. So he glanced around, spotting Ann with Ryuji and Aki, before he gave a subtle nod for the truth but said,

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Thankfully Mishima understood as he nodded and said, "Ah, right...sorry about that... Probably shouldn't have said it like that..."

"It's okay."

"But really...I wanted to tell you because, well...it's my way of apologizing," he said.

"Mishima..."

"Kamoshida used me and I did some horrible things to you guys," he said, sullen. But then he turned determined. "But he's not the only one. There are tons of rotten adults out there. And I'm sure the Phantom Thieves will do something about it. So I made the forum so people can post about their problems."

"I see..."

"I know this isn't much...but I...really wanna help the Phantom Thieves' acts of justice. So if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know!"

Ren allowed a small smile and said, "Thank you. I'll be sure to let you know."

The boy returned it. "Heh. No problem," he said. "I'm glad to hear that."

The world paused.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall be the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Moon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.

Then it resumed with Mishima saying,

"Oh I've also implemented an anonymous poll too. 'Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves?'"

Ren grew curious. "Why did you do that?"

"Well I wanna work on it so it'll be filled with tons of supportive posts. There are probably a lot of people with high hopes about their next move. So if they see people supporting the Thieves, then more people will post their problems here."

"Smart," Ren said, especially since they were already using it as a source for targets. "I'll be looking forward to your work."

"Heh. Thanks. I'll live up to your expectations. I promise."

"Anything else?"

"No, I don't think so. But I'll let you know if I see anything interesting."

"Thank you again."

Mishima smiled brighter. "All right. See you," he said.

And then he more or less ran off.

Ren sweatdropped in amusement at the awkward exit.

"We heard all that," Ryuji said as he and the others came up to him. "Geez...it was awkward tryin' to figure out when to walk in..."

Ann said, "So that forum is Mishima-kun's..."

And Mona said, "Has he figured out our identities?"

"Really? You couldn't tell?" Aki said, flatly looking him. "I thought you said you were smart."

"Hey! I'm worried he might spill about us!"

"Even if he does know, I think it'll be fine," Ann said. "He was playing it cool."

"I agree," Ren said.

"And he made that forum for the Thieves," Aki said.

"I guess we should have a little...chat about this later."

"I thought you said you're not a thug."

"Wha—no! That's not what I meant! I just meant talkin' 'bout that forum, that's all!"

Aki snickered but before Ryuji could protest more, Mona said,

"Still though...a forum where people can post problems is unexpectedly useful."

"Yeah, it'll be useful for info," his sister said.

The faux-blond sighed. "Anyways, we gotta look for our next target."

"And stay sharp until then," Ann said. "When we do find one, we'll have to go to a Palace, so we need to get ready for it and—"

"Wait, oh crap!"

Everyone was startled and got mad.

"What the hell, Ryuji?!"

"Indoor voice."

"Yeah! What is with you?!"

"Don't we got an exam comin' up?"

Oh right. "Yes we do," Ren said. "I was actually going to remind you."

"Damn it!"

Ren sniggered.

"You're going to have a hard time with this one too, aren't you...?" Ann said to the faux-blond.

"Like you're any better! All you're good at is English!"

"I'd rather that than be bad at everything!"

But then Mona said with a smirk, "Even your Japanese is questionable, Ryuji,"

And the boy said, "What's questionable is if you're even human." Then he smirked and said, "Heh. Good comeback huh?"

So of course Mona said, "Let's discuss this with our fists!"

"Bring it!"

"Stop it you two," Ren said before it could devolve into a proper argument.

"Yeah knock it off," Ann said, backing him up.

The two grumbled but still locked in a heated gaze.

Ren sighed. Well, he might as well kill two birds with one stone.

"Come on. Let's go and study."

"Huh?" everyone except Aki said.

His sister meanwhile said, "Yeah let's do that. There's this diner in Central Street I wanna try. I hear it's quiet and I wanna get somethin' to eat while we're at it."

"I'm fine with that." He said to the others, "You?"

"Uh..."

As surprised as the two were, they agreed to study together at the diner. And it proved that, yes, Ann and Ryuji were...quite academically challenged. Ren's heart swelled with pride over his friend's surprise at how easily Aki learned her subjects and even understood their second-year material. So he spent half his time tutoring them, Aki joining when she was on her breaks. He laughed all the while with her as Ann and Ryuji both thanked and complained about their smarts.

(A)

Akira sighed and wiped the sweat off her brow. After they came back from the study session—that was half studying and half teasing Ann and Ryuji—Sakura-san asked them to help with the café, the traffic for the afternoon busier than usual. It was a little annoying they had to do that just as they got back, but Akira didn't mind.

"Here," Sakura-san said.

Akira stared as Ren caught a key thrown at him.

"Sakura-san...?" her brother said, bewildered.

"That's the key to this place," he said. "You get to lock up from now on. I can't keep waiting for you to come back."

She and her brother looked at each other than back at their caretaker.

"Did somethin' happen?" she couldn't help but say.

The man glowered. "Nothing happened. It's just as I said."

Once again, Akira shared a look with Ren before they broke into grins.

"Thanks Sakura-san."

"Thank you Sakura-san."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're welcome. Now make sure not to start any fires, got it?"

"Got it!"

With that, the man left and they went to bathhouse nearby to wash. When they finished though, Akira wanted to go out to Shibuya at night, despite having just cleaned up. Luckily for her, Ren was of the same mind and readily agreed. They locked up Leblanc with Mona in tow and toured the streets and tunnels of Tokyo at night. Though it didn't seem too different from day, the amount of people about the same. Ren found a few places where he could get stuff for Palace trips while she spotted a job opening for the beef bowl shop Ryuji took them to, Ore no Beko. She remembered that Ren had been looking for part time jobs he could do but not landing any yet. So she decided to call it, hoping to get an interview over with. When she told Ren this, he reminded her customer service was hard but...

"I'll be fine, Big Bro. If I can handle Grumpy Chef, then I can handle a bunch of grumpy strangers."

He laughed then and conceded, only once again cautioning her.

On their way back though, Akira noticed an older man, close to Sakura-san's age, talking near Shibuya Station. He seemed to be some politician campaigning or something, if his talk about society's problems and its need to reform was any indication. Akira scoffed and then followed after her brother who had waited for her.

As much as she wished his words were earnest, she doubted that man actually meant it.

{R}

Once again, Ren kept an ear open for anything interesting. But the best he got was news on the train about some famous artist opening up an exhibit soon. And on top of that, Ann confirmed that the police were at Shujin to investigate the Kamoshida incident. Unsurprisingly, after classes were over, Ryuji begged to not have a group study session like yesterday, saying he studied last night and was completely burnt out. Ann, too, begged for a break. Amused, Ren decided to be merciful and had everyone gather at the hideout to relax as well as see if they could find any leads on the Phan-Site. Which...

"None of these posts are good. It's just people bitchin' about their parents or their boyfriends..."

...wasn't going well, to put it mildly.

"What'd ya expect? A tip on a silver platter?"

"Course not, but...there's not even a hint of a hint of a Palace."

It was probably a good thing they didn't have a target yet though. Exams were coming up in a few days. Even if they did happen to find a target, it wouldn't do good to cause another commotion so soon. The police were in the school right now after all, looking into the Kamoshida incident. It would be easy for them to notice if they made their move now, especially if their target was a criminal they overlooked.

Just as that conversation ended, the door creaked and everyone tensed. Then Mona ran off and they tried to play it cool as it opened. Ren hoped it was that auburn haired girl that seemed to take care of the garden here, but unfortunately it wasn't. Instead it was a brunette girl with a dark hairband and a stern countenance. And the first thing she said was,

"This place is off-limits you know."

"Yeah we know," Aki said. "Exactly why we're here. No one wants us to bother them and all."

Ren smiled bitterly at the truth of that.

"But if us being here is bothering you, we'll leave," he said, his tone the same as his "smile". "But only after we're finished talking."

"Yeah," Ryuji said. "'Sides, what's Miss Council President want with us?"

Ren tensed and put up a polite, but neutral, façade to hide it. This wasn't good. The student council president was here... He could only imagine the reasons, none of them good.

Especially as the girl mused "aloud". "The troublemaker, the center of gossip and the infamous transfer students. Hmm, interesting combination..."

That alone was enough for him to guess that she was suspecting their true connection to the Phanton Thieves, as well as piss off his sister and friends who glared at the girl.

Ann said under her breath, "Great way to start a conversation..."

While Aki said, "I think the words you're lookin' for are 'the outcasts everyone hates'."

Ren hid his snigger while his friends didn't hide theirs upon seeing the slight flinch of the brunette. But the girl wasn't deterred. If anything, her resolve hardened as much as her tone as she said,

"By the way... It seems you got to know Mr. Kamoshida pretty well."

"Not really," he said, because it was true.

They didn't really know Kamoshida well enough to care. Not that he wanted to beyond not wanting him dead.

That however upset the girl as she glowered and said, "Are you playing dumb with me?"

"Nah we ain't," Aki said. She smirked. "Now if we really wanted to play dumb, we'd have said somethin' like...'who's Kamoshida?'."

This time none of them restrained their chuckles as the student council president grew miffed at his sister's words.

"See?" Ann said, a bit smug. "Just goes to show how little we really know him."

The council president was persistent though, despite the brief humiliation.

"I heard Mr. Kamoshida used a volleyball team member to spread details of your past record," she said after composing herself. "Don't you hate him? Mr. Kamoshida I mean."

He and his sister glared.

"Course we do," she said.

"You would have to be heartless to not hate him after what happened with Suzui," he said.

Silence. No one said anything. The air tightened with tension after the girl outright flinched. Then they stared each other down. In his case, he let the implications hang in the air for her to ruminate. In her case, she was likely recuperating and planning her next move.

It was broken by Ryuji being impatient. "What's all this about? My friends here are upstandin' guys."

"I don't mean to offend," she was quick to say.

And Aki was quick to follow. "Sure you don't. And I've got twenty-twenty vision."

The brunette ignored her, to Ren's amusement. "Many students have been shaken up by what happened with Mr. Kamoshida," she said, serious. "The rumors about that calling card-esque posting aren't going away either."

Now Ren was sure she suspected them to be the culprits behind that. He cursed their luck. But since Mishima figured them out, he shouldn't have been surprised.

"Yeah, so?" Aki said.

"Yeah. I didn't expect someone like you to care about tactless stuff like that, Niijima-senpai," Ann said, acting all "surprised"...not.

Before "Niijima-senpai" could say more on that, Ryuji mumbled then said,

"Anyways, we done here? We ain't leaving if you keep talkin' to us."

"We'll be finished soon," Ren said in hopes of convincing her.

But then she said, absolutely annoyed, "At least try to understand my position. Being forced to deal with this horseplay..."

"Horseplay?!" Ann said, matching the other two's outrage.

And Ren frowned, boring straight into her eyes as he said, "Then how about you understand our position first, Miss President? If my sister didn't make it clear enough...no one likes us. So unless you're nice to us first, we're not going to bother being nice to you. Do you understand?"

The girl was taken aback, almost looking hurt, but Ren wouldn't take back his words. They didn't cow under Kamoshida's influence. A student council president's power was nothing compared to that.

After another short staring contest, the brunette composed herself. But of course, she wasn't going to make it easy to rattle her.

"Very well...which reminds me. It's been dictated that this place will be closed off due to the incident," she said, now smug despite everything. "I heard some people are coming up here without permission, after all."

Everyone glowered at her attitude but Ren couldn't help but say, "What about the garden?"

And her smugness was replaced with confusion. "Garden?"

That calmed Aki down enough for her to say, "Oh yeah. Someone comes up to take care of it. Does that mean she's gonna be banned too? It'd suck if these plants are gonna die 'cause of that..."

Once again, Niijima was caught off guard, but instead of being stern or annoyed, she was unsure as she looked at the garden in contemplation.

"I...believe she will be given an exception..." she said. Then quickly added, "I'm sorry to have interrupted you."

Then just as fast, she left the roof, turning on her heel without so much as a glance back. Once the door thudded close, Ryuji said,

"What was that all about?"

"Ain't it obvious? 'The troublemaker, the center of gossip and the infamous transfer students. Hmm, interesting combination... They totally don't have any connection with Kamoshida at all...nooo...'" Aki said, mimicking the older brunette's voice well in a mocking tone.

Ryuji and Ann stared at how much it sounded like her before joining him in his chuckle at her mimicry.

"What Akira's trying to say is that she's on to us," Mona said, jumping back down. "That girl seems rather sharp. We should be cautious of her."

He and his sister nodded in agreement, serious once again.

Their friend groaned. "She really pisses me off!"

"We'll have to be more careful now," Ren said.

Aki said, "Yeah, since she's basically figured us out..."

Ryuji sighed. "Talk about a pain in the ass..."

Indeed it was.

"We're going to have to move the bag," he said. "Mona, do you mind?"

"Of course not."

While the not-cat did that, his sister said,

"Great. We're gonna have to pick another hideout then."

"I think it's fine we don't for now," he said. "We still have exams after all."

"Exactly," Mona said, muffled from holding their inventory bag in his mouth before Ren took it. "Make sure you all study hard. Especially you, Ryuji. There will be traps that need brains to solve them. Everything you do everyday will affect your abilities in the Metaverse."

"True," their blonde friend said. "Studying won't be so bad if we think of it like that."

The boy groaned. "I get it but...it's so lame. I was all pumped up to help people, not study."

Ren and Aki laughed.

"Well it ain't gonna be all glitz and glamour, bud," she said.

He said, "It is a double life after all."

Ryuji groaned again. This time Ann joined him and his sister in their humor.

However, Mona then said, "Well I do have something interesting to show you. You did promise to help me with my mission after all."

And Ren remembered their deal.

"Mission?" Ann said, confused.

"Oh right," Aki said, echoing his thoughts. "You weren't there when we promised to to help Mona..."

"He agreed to help us if we help him become human again," Ren said. "But weren't you looking into Kamoshida's Palace? How are we supposed to learn more about it if it's gone?"

"No. That's not all," Mona said as he went in Ren's school bag. "Just go to the station. I'll show you when we get there."

Ren sighed. Knowing Mona won't say more, they all agreed to head to the station by Buchiko. When they got there, the non-feline told Ryuji to bring out his phone and put up the Phan-Site. They were confused about that since there had been no hints of any "big shots", but Mona insisted on looking, specifically for a full name. There were plenty of posts with them, to their unease, but most of them were in the same vein as the boyfriend and parent complaints Ryuji mentioned before. But eventually Ann found a more serious post with a name on it. A former teller from City Hall named Natsuhiko Nakanohara was stalking his ex-girlfriend. After they agreed to target him, Mona asked for the MetaNav to be put up. But as Ryuji entered the name and prepared to guess the keywords, the non-feline said,

"Actually, we don't need the location. Just enter exactly what I say. The keyword is...'Mementos'."

And reality warped as they entered the Metaverse and everyone around them disappeared. While Ren wondered why no one was dragged with them this time around, the faux-blond said,

"Is this that Nakanohara guy's Palace?"

"That's half-right and half-wrong. This is a type of Palace, but it's different from the normal ones."

"Different? How's it—"

"Come on. Follow me. The Shadows here lurk underground," Mona said and then ran off into the subway tunnels.

"Hey! Wait up, cat!"

And Ryuji followed after him.

Aki sighed. Ren chuckled. And Ann said,

"Come on. We're gonna lose him."

Then they trailed after the non-feline and faux-blond into Tokyo's underground.